


Distant Dreams

by knittenkitten



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Gen, Multi, One-sided Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), background Sora/Riku - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 15:01:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18552148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knittenkitten/pseuds/knittenkitten
Summary: Kairi hasn't seen Sora since he left for the Mark of Mastery exam.  She thinks about the state of their relationship as she hones her keyblade skills.(Takes place alongside the secret ending of 3D going into KH3)





	Distant Dreams

As usual, it was a bright and sunny day on the Destiny Islands, and Kairi was...trying to relax on the curved tree. She had a book in her hands, but couldn't keep her eyes focused on what she was reading. She kept adjusting her position, as if the rough, but familiar texture of the tree could have been what was distracting her.

It was Kairi who had opted to stay home from the Mark of Mastery exam, of course. She'd been told her friends would be headed off to a different world and there'd be nothing for her to watch. From that she'd concluded she'd be happiest on the islands, but a couple of days had since passed. She reluctantly admitted to herself that she was getting worried.

She slammed the book shut, sat upright and sighed.

_ Guess I'll head back to the main island...what's the point of waiting when they might not even be coming? _

Suddenly, a dark portal opened immediately to her right. It reminded her of when Axel had appeared before her not too long ago, and she yelped, practically throwing her book on the ground.

Riku emerged, smirking when he noticed Kairi's reaction. He took the hand he'd used to summon the portal and raised it up for a small wave as the dark vortex disappeared.

"Hey, you. Thought I'd catch you waiting out here."

Kairi grinned at the sight of one of her oldest friends as she awkwardly fumbled for her dropped book. Once she had found it and placed it in her bag, she cleared her throat and hopped upright.

"I sure am relieved to see  _ you _ coming out of there!"

"As opposed to Sora? I'm honored."

"You're still great, but I meant as opposed to, say, Axel."

Riku snorted. "Funny you mention him."

"Why? How did the test go?"

He paused.

"Well."

He smiled confidently, but also looked down, clenching his fists.

After another pause, he looked straight at Kairi and reached out his hand. "The test aside, you're wanted back at the tower, so I've been sent to pick you up."

Kairi returned his glance, tilting her head and frowning.

"Why? Is Sora OK? Isn't he normally barreling in right behind you?"

Riku's lips parted in surprise. He avoided her worried gaze and raised an arm behind his neck.

"Oh, sorry, he's fine."

He sighed, crossing his arms around his chest. Kairi put her hands on her hips, not breaking eye contact, and Riku eventually caught the hint.

"I passed but...Sora didn't. The test was kind of hard on him, so I'm letting him have some time to himself. Then Master Yen Sid told me to come get you, but didn't tell me why."

Kairi grinned and gave Riku a congratulatory hug, his shoulders stiffening in response.

"Congrats! Fitting you'd be the one who has it all together."

Riku hadn't been much for  _ her  _ hugs growing up, and he didn't warm to this gesture, either, so she let go of her clearly uncomfortable friend.

"Wouldn't be like Sora to win the first round, anyway. You rub it in good for me?"

The slight smile on his face flattened as Riku abruptly pulled away from her. He shot her a quick glare, but quickly regained his composure, softening into a sigh.

"...wow, OK, I'm sorry. That bad, huh? Mind telling me what happened?"

Riku considered her question briefly, turning away and clenching his fists yet again.

"...yeah, I do mind. Sorry."

Now Kairi was frowning. She crossed her arms.

"Tough, serious Keyblade warrior stuff, eh? You're right! I'm sure I'd _ never _ understand it," she quipped, more bitterly than she had intended.

Riku smiled reluctantly and gently placed his hand on the edge of her shoulder - a kind, physical gesture she hadn't expected from her aloof friend.

"I just think it'd be better for both of you if you heard it from Sora. I'm sure he'll tell you once he gets back from...whatever it is that he's doing."

"You really think he'd talk to me about something you don't want to tell me about?"

Riku smiled softly - softly!? - and turned to gaze out over the ocean. "Of course he would. Sora can bounce back from anything with a huge smile on his face. Next thing we know, he'll be pulling off some miracle that'll make us feel silly for ever worrying about him."

Kairi was surprised to hear so many words - words of praise at that - coming out of  _ Riku _ . She regarded his smile curiously and giggled.

"You really think so? ...I wonder what happened to the sarcastic kid who never missed an opportunity to poke fun at our lazy bum of a friend."

Riku closed his eyes, thought for a little bit, and then smirked.

"Well, I think he grew up."

Kairi stood on her toes and stretched up with all her might, even then not quite reaching Riku's now impressive height.

"Clearly," she squeaked.

Riku laughed - a hearty, full-bodied laugh that brought him down leaning back against the tree. Kairi couldn't help but join in, and they immersed themselves in the glow of a friendship they hadn't been allowed to enjoy in years.

Kairi hoped she'd soon be able to cut away at the distance between her and Sora, as well.

When the moment had passed, Riku opened up a dark portal and offered his hand to Kairi.

"Shall we go,  _ princess _ ?"

She playfully slapped his hand away, and then they walked into the portal side by side.

\-----------------------------------------------------------

Kairi's conversation with Riku ended up weighing heavily on her as she began training with Lea, especially when Riku and the King showed up with new clothes, some news about what Sora was doing...and not even as much as a "hello from Sora".

Kairi had pouted when they left, which had drawn a quizzical look, but no questions, from Lea.

As they practiced using their keyblades, she found herself obsessing over her interactions with Sora since she had been reunited with him in The World That Never Was. This was nothing new - she'd done this at least a little bit every night since then, even after Sora and Riku had returned.

She'd flipped her hair ("boys LOVE that!", Selphie had told her, demonstrating the move on a quickly flustered Tidus, and to Kairi's impressed satisfaction) and flounced a turn that showed off her (cute!) new outfit. But Sora stopped five feet away from her, smiled awkwardly, and simply said, "you  _ are _ different, Kairi, but I'm just glad you're here!".

The next blue orb that approached Kairi went down with a decisive slash.

Kairi also recalled pulling him in for a hug, almost desperate to be acknowledged as the slightly more grown-up version of the girl Sora had promised to return to, but he recoiled...before he reluctantly returned the sentiment.

The next one was impaled by a brisk thrust forward that dissolved it into a cloud of particles.

Perhaps Sora had grown into a type and it wasn't what Kairi had grown into. The thought made her heart hurt, but Kairi knew she could eventually grow to accept that.

But when she'd dragged Riku straight off the edge of a dark abyss of shame to Sora's side and placed their hands together, the depth of Sora's connection to Riku was  _ palpable _ through the hand she had used to join them.

It was the kind of powerful connection she'd thought she'd at least had with Sora, but all she'd felt from him was an obligation to an old friend he hadn't seen in a while.

The kind of old friend you hadn't drawn yourself sharing a  _ paopu fruit _ with on the cave walls.

The final blue orb in the set caught her by surprise, and Kairi narrowly dodged getting hit by it as she pulled back and awkwardly sliced the keyblade through it.

She bonked the magical gadget that was generating the practice targets, temporarily turning them off, then withdrew her keyblade and sat down for a quick thinking break.

_ Was Sora upset because he found out I'd forgotten about him for a while or something? _

Kairi had meant to ask Sora that very question at some point during the brief time they were back on the islands, but the words had never come out. She didn't want to make him feel bad over something so silly when he'd just been through such an ordeal.

Heaven forbid she try to ask  _ Riku  _ for help with something like this, though perhaps this new and improved version was a different story.

Kairi had been struck by the grown-up Riku's soft, serious, and caring gaze when he spoke about Sora, enough that she had mostly held off on teasing him about it. It was the kind of look Kairi wanted to see on Sora's face when he talked about her.

The kind of look Sora had displayed a younger version of when she'd given him her lucky charm in Traverse Town.

The kind of look Kairi didn't know Sora well enough to give him anymore...and vice versa, she had to admit.

Was it even possible for Riku to like Sora the same way she did? Would he be deferring to Sora and Kairi's relationship so much if he did?

Kairi leaned forward and rested her chin on her right fist. She wasn't sure about the answers to those questions...and wasn't sure she wanted to open the "rival Riku" box while she was still in the midst of sorting through the "feelings for Sora" box.

Instead, she found herself looking up to Riku as an example to follow, much like Sora did.

Kairi filled herself with determination to use her new powers to learn about and care for Sora as much as Riku had had the chance to.

She still had hope that the Sora who drew himself giving a paopu fruit to Kairi was still out there and thinking about her.

Of course, part of what Kairi admired about Sora was knowing that she would never be the only person on Sora's mind. She was amazed by the stories she'd heard about how many worlds he'd gone to and people he'd helped.

But she didn’t think it was selfish of her to hope that Sora was saving some space for her in that big old heart of his. After all, all she really wanted right now was for him to at least be trying to care about what she was doing right now.

Kairi swallowed the bitter lump in her throat that had formed with that last thought. She didn't like herself when she thought things like that.

She decided to focus on her determination to prove herself to Sora, and pulled out a notepad.

_ Pretending I'm telling him what's going on might help... _

\-----------------------------------------------------------

Merlin had stepped in to offer some guidance, then immediately stepped out for a spot of tea, leaving some sea salt ice cream for Kairi and Lea...err, Axel. He still didn't have a single word from Sora...though, to be fair, Kairi suspected that Merlin would be the type to forget such a message.

Still, the fuzzy way time passed in this space made the wait all the more agonizing.

It occurred to her that if Sora was just out there chasing some power nobody knew how to get back, there was no reason they couldn't spare even just a couple minutes for Sora to visit.

Wouldn't Sora normally be the type to force such a trip? She'd heard Sora had been upset he didn't get to go to the realm of darkness with Riku and the King. It was shared as a silly anecdote about how stubborn he was, but Kairi couldn't help but wish he'd been that stubborn about getting to see her.

And she  _ still _ had only heard that Riku had passed the exam, Sora had failed, Xehanort was involved, and Axel had helped somehow - nothing else.

The bitter thoughts that Kairi had found herself thinking back when she'd written the first letter rose back up to the top of her head. All she wanted to do was have that conversation with Sora that Riku had assured her he'd be eager to have. She  _ hated _ feeling like this.

_ I am a princess of light, and a princess of light doesn't hold in negative emotions - she _ deals  _ with them. _

Kairi took a deep breath, sat down and turned back to face Axel.

"Hey, Axel?" she called back.

Axel turned around, smiling at Kairi as he put away his keyblade and walked toward her.

"Got it memorized already?"

Kairi giggled. She wasn't lying when she "told" Sora it was hard not to like him, goofy slogans and all.

"How could I not?"

Axel sat down next to Kairi. "Working up to writing another fake letter?"

"Well...I was wondering if you could tell me what happened during the Mark of Mastery exam."

Axel scratched his head. "That whatchamacallit Sora and Riku were doing?"

"Yeah. I tried to ask Riku about it, but..."

She drifted off, trying to think of the best way to describe his reaction.

"Can't blame him for that, I guess," Axel interrupted. "If it wasn't for me, Sora would've been a total goner...and I wouldn't wish losing your best friend like that on anybody, trust me."

She'd heard Axel had played an important role in the exams when Master Yen Sid had reassured her of his redemption, but nothing that bold.

Kairi's jaw dropped, the pitch of her voice shifting up dramatically. "A goner!? If it wasn't for you!?"

Axel laughed. "You look and sound just like Sora and Riku when I showed them my  _ hot _ new keyblade."

"But you've got to tell me more! I didn't hear any of this!" she demanded.

He looked at the horizon wistfully and paused. Kairi thought she saw a tear forming at the corner of his eye.

"I've...not got the best history when it comes to telling people what’s going on."

After sighing and wiping his eyes, he turned to Kairi again.

"But I'll take the chance to make up for my past screw-ups...for a friend of a friend."

Kairi took a deep breath and smiled.

"Thanks, Axel."

"So the test had Yen Sid sending them off back in time to go dream and visit these sleeping worlds."

Words that made sense individually, but were utterly incomprehensible to her in a sentence - Sora and Riku time traveled? There was a dream involved? Why!?

"Huh?"

Axel laughed, then shrugged.

"Listen, kid, I'm about as lost as you are there. All you really need to know is they had a baby face the whole time up until the test ended. Anyway...it turns out Xehanort used some time travel of his own to muck everything up."

She'd heard about most of that part, and to be honest, Kairi didn't mind not knowing the precise mechanics. ...though she still planned to ask Sora what exactly was up with the sleeping time travel.

"So what did Xehanort do?"

"Put Sora into an...extra deep sleep so he could take control of him? Again, a little lost here." Axel responded, scratching his head.

She'd been led to believe that Sora had made some sort of mistake, but this sounded much more sinister.

Axel noticed Kairi frowning and looking down.

"Xehanort must've pulled something pretty bad! If Sora's anything like my friend, he'd never let himself go down without a fight."

Kairi nodded, remembering Riku had simply said the test had been hard on Sora. Just because he fell into one of Xehanort's traps - just like Riku had - didn't mean he was any less of a strong person.

"Riku and the King tried to save Sora, but they got pinned down by Ansem and Xemnas, and Xehanort was about to take him over or whatever. Then I came in like a wrecking ball and roasted 'em before they could!"

Axel grinned, having thrown in the resolution to Sora's moment of peril as quickly as he could. Kairi shot him a thumbs up and a matching grin.

"So that's where you saved the day!"

"It was perfect timing. Hope they got my face memorized.”

"What happened after that?"

"Hmm. Well, we all got back to the tower and Sora was still stuck asleep. So Riku, who was actually in his dream the whole time or something like that, jumped into his heart to wake him up."

_ Jumped into his heart!? _

"And then after Yen Sid said Riku passed I showed them my awesome new keyblade, and they were  _ oh _ -so-surprised. Can't wait to show 'em I've got Master potential, too!"

Kairi sat silently, barely listening to Axel complete the story as she contemplated the experience she'd missed out on.

"...so how'd I do?"

Axel's puzzled follow-up question caught her by surprise.

"Thank you so much! But..."

Kairi puffed her cheeks and sulked.

"Hmmph. I had no idea Sora was in so much danger. Nobody would tell me! Poor Sora! Poor Riku!"

Axel, Riku, and probably the King had all pulled such heroic stunts to help Sora out. Especially Riku. No wonder Sora seemed to be forgetting about his other childhood friend. How could she ever get the chance to bond with Sora like that?

Axel put his hand on her sunken shoulder.

"But the point is that Sora came out of it OK...and it's all thanks to yours truly. Got it memorized?"

He winked at Kairi, practically beaming. The disconnect between her complicated feelings and Axel's unbridled enthusiasm made Kairi burst out laughing.

"I don't know if it was  _ all _ thanks to you. But we're all glad to have had you there."

"And it's our job to get involved and make sure those 'Keyblade Masters' don't let it all get to their heads."

Kairi made two fists and pulled her arms down emphatically. "You've got that right!"

She pulled out her notepad from her bag.

"You know what? I think I'm going to write a letter about that. Thank you, Axel!"

"No problem, kiddo."

Axel turned to let her write in peace as he pulled out a sea salt ice cream bar.

_ Sora, _

_ I hope you're doing well. I'm working hard so I can help you and Riku. _

_ I heard about what happened at the exam. That sounds awful! I'm glad Riku and Axel were there for you. _

_ I'm really sorry I missed you afterwards. I wish I could've been there for you. I hope I can be there for you if something happens to you during the big battle. _

_ I feel so left behind sometimes. Have you thought about me lately? _

_ You've changed so much since we separated two years ago. _

_ Sometimes I wonder if you still care about me. _

_ I wish you could send me some sort of sign that you do. _

_ I wish you'd worry about me as much as I heard you worry about your other friends. _

I  _ worry about you a lot. _

_ I want to become strong so I can show you that! _

_ I want you to watch me. _

_ I want to show you I deserve to be in your life, too! _

_ I'm going to protect you this time, dammit! _

...that went somewhere Kairi wasn't expecting it to go. Talk about a letter she wasn't actually going to send.

But it felt good to get those feelings out.

Kairi folded up the paper as many times as she could, made a fist around it, then threw it.

She drew her keyblade nimbly and practically slammed a beam of star-shaped light into the paper.

"Hah!"

Axel, having watched the whole thing curiously, gasped, nearly dropping his sea salt ice cream.

"Nice moves, but I feel like I gotta ask...you okay over there, princess?"

"Hmph. I will be, after a couple more hours of practice."

Axel, inspired by her energy, drew his keyblade as he stuffed the rest of the ice cream into his mouth as fast as he could, staggering as the brain freeze hit.

_ That's right. I'll show them.  _ I'll _ protect  _ Sora _ this time. _

**Author's Note:**

> I might add to this if the DLC feeds me in the right way. We'll see!


End file.
